


Of Fish and a Mountain

by Rose_of_Pollux



Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-08-09 00:32:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7779916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_of_Pollux/pseuds/Rose_of_Pollux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being on the run from THRUSH on a mountainside won't stop Napoleon from cooking for Illya.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Fish and a Mountain

When Illya returned from his look around the mountainside, he was surprised to see that Napoleon had gotten a fire going; above it, speared on a stick, were three small fish that Illya surmised were from the nearby stream.

“…Is that our dinner?”

“Yeah; it was the best I could do in the dark,” Napoleon said, apologetically. “Maybe tomorrow, I can catch some larger ones.” He frowned. “Wish we hadn’t lost the gear when THRUSH captured us—we actually had provisions in it.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Illya said, sitting beside him, in front of the fire. “We were lucky to escape with our lives. I wasn’t looking forward to being thrown down a crevasse.”

“Oh, is _that_ what they were planning to do to us? Yeah, in that case, this is definitely more preferable.”

Illya let out a quiet snark, and watched as Napoleon removed the fish from above the fire and inspected them. He seemed satisfied with how they turned out; he gingerly removed one from the stick by the tail and speared it onto another stick to avoid burning his hands, and then handed the first stick with two fish to Illya.

“Will that be enough for you?” the Russian asked, seeing the tiny, lone fish that Napoleon had kept for himself.

“I’ll manage; you were the one wandering around the mountain, trying to get our bearings,” Napoleon said. “You need to keep your strength up. Besides, I can handle hunger better.”

“Thank you,” Illya murmured, quietly, and he gratefully began to eat. It was surprisingly good; even in the middle of a forsaken mountain, Napoleon was still able to make a delicious meal out of small fish. “This is… quite good.”

“Well, I found some wild thyme nearby.”

“Always the gourmet…”

“Only way to live, _Tovarisch_. Only way to live.” Napoleon finished his fish and cast the leftover bones into the fire. “Did you find a way down the mountain?”

Illya nodded.

“Da; it is a considerable walk, but there is a way down. THRUSH will be after us, but if we make it down past the tree line, the forest will give us some cover.”

Napoleon sighed.

“Well, we don’t want them to find us any sooner, so we should probably douse the fire now.”

It wasn’t cold enough for freezing to be a concern, but it was going to be uncomfortable. Still, it could have been worse; they could’ve ended up in that crevasse…

Napoleon doused the fire and sat back down, pausing as Illya removed his black turtleneck and handed it to him.

“Illya?”

“You handle hunger better. I handle the cold better,” Illya said, simply.

Napoleon’s lips twitched to a smile as he accepted the sweater.

“I’ll keep first watch,” he said. “Get some rest.”

Illya nodded and soon managed to fall asleep, seemingly unperturbed by the night chill. Napoleon watched him for a moment, shook his head in amusement, and then began to keep watch.

In all fairness, considering all the things that could have happened today, this counted as one of their better days.


End file.
